Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says China is denying the rumor that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's youngest son, Jong-un, is his heir apparent.

According to the former U.S. president, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao quoted North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as saying that the notion that he will be succeeded by his youngest son Jong-un is "a false rumor from the West."

Carter said the Chinese premier made the remark to him during a visit he made to China earlier this month.

He made the statement in a report on his trip to China posted on the Web site of the Carter Center.

The report said that all parties will “just have to wait to learn the truth about the succession in power.”

Washington's official stance is that it knows nothing about Pyongyang's power succession.